Eragon (Kieran Berard)

Title: Eragon
Author: Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 497

I found this book on the bookshelf in my room and I had never read it before.

A boy named Eragon finds a “rock” in the Spine which is deep woods near his home in Carvahall. It turns out that the “rock” is a dragon’s egg and it hatches and Eragon immediately becomes a dragon rider without even knowing. The dragon egg belongs to the king, Galbatorix who is the greatest dragon rider of all time and is outraged that one of his dragons has fallen into the wrong hands. So, throughout the story Galbatorix tries everything in his power to get the dragon back after it hatches. When it does hatch Eragon names it Saphira and is able to talk to it and interact with it using a special mind touch. Eragon meets a man named Brom who is a former dragon rider who takes him on a journey to the Varden where he will be safe from Galbatorix and his comrades. Along the journey however Brom dies and Eragon is alone to fend fro himself but stumbles upon the presence of another young man like himself who accompanies him for the rest of the journey. Once they make it to the Varden, Eragon and Saphira are emitted as a pair and they have an enormous battle: the Varden vs. Galbatorix. The Varden win however and Eragon and Saphira stay with the Varden and this is where the story ends…

The audience for this book is for teenagers and up because younger audiences might not enjoy the amount of gore and fighting that happens within the book.

Christopher Paolini’s writing style uses lots of description. This enables his readers to truly feel like they are where he is describing or they can envision the person or object he is depicting.

“At dawn the sun’s rays streamed through the window, warming Eragon’s face. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up on the edge of the bed. The pine floor was cold under his feet. He stretched his sore legs and rubbed his back, yawning” (pg.19 –Eragon).

…”The Ra’zac were never seen before Galbatorix came to power. He must have found them during his travels and enlisted them in his service. Little or nothing is known about them…” (pg. 103 – Eragon).

This passage is Brom explaining to Eragon who the Ra’zac are…this is one of the important parts of the book because the Ra’zac are Galbatorix’s henchmen and Eragon has no idea what to look for in the sense of danger. So Brom is helping him out.

“Stenr reisa,” he gasped. The pebble wobbled into the air over his faintly glowing palm. He struggled to keep it floating, but the power slipped away and faded back behind the barrier” (pg. 149 –Eragon).

This passage is Eragon’s first magic lesson, where he learns to use his magical skills for good use and for bad use. With this he is able to talk to his dragon and do other scientifically inaccurate things. It struck me because of all the things he could acquire to do in such a short time period.


“She withdrew from his mind with a gentle touch and a whisper. I love
you, little one.
And I you, he said. She curled into a ball next to him, lending him her warmth. He sat motionless in the dark, wrestling with his disquiet” (pg. 192--Eragon).

This is a very important passage because it shows how much of a bond that Eragon and Saphira have for one another. They both are there for each other if one of them is hurt and they are there for each others comfort as well. I think that since they are in each others minds and can communicate this way that it just makes their bond even stronger.

While reading this book I interacted with it a lot. I understood what Eragon was thinking and his thought process, in the fact that he did not want to have the burden of being a dragon rider at first. If I was in his situation I most likely would have thought the same thing. All in all, he ended up becoming friends with people he never in his life would have imagined befriending and he really enjoyed his life after his encounter with the dragon egg. I really liked the way this book brought this out to the reader and I think Christopher Paolini is a wonderful author.